Recuperator



P. D H.. DRESSLER RECULQRATOR Original` Filed June 13.1920

1:* has' @whom HMM 0, 0 v @JMP/Q Patented' Jaa. e, 1925.

UNITED STATES,"

PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP DH. DREssLER, or' CLEVELAND, OHIO, AssI'GNoR 'ro AMERIOAN nREssLER TUNNEL mLNs, ING.,- OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW YoRck.-

RECUPERATOR. l

Application led June 18,-1920,Seria1 No. 389,837. Renewed May 31,1924.

To all whom t may concern:4

Be it known that I, PHILIP DH. DREssLER,

i a subject of theKing of Great Britain, and

' resident of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Recuperators, of which the following is a specification.

The general object of the present invention is'to provide an improved constructionA of recuperator for utilizing the heat in the lescaping products Of'combustion from afur'- nace in preheating the air supplied to the furnace to maintain combustion therein.

The various features of novelty whichv characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, and the advantages possessed by it reference Ashould be had to the accom panying drawings and descriptive matter in which I have-illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention. Of the drawings;

F ig. l is a' somewhat diagrammatic .sec-

tional plan Of a portion of a tunnel kiln provided with my improved recuperators;

Fig. 2 is apartial transverse section 'of a kiln lshown in Fig. 1;

And Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section taken at right angles to Fig. 2.

In the drawings I have illustrated the use .of my invention in 'connection with a continuous-tunnel kiln A forming the'subject matter of my application, Serial No. 369414 filed March 27, 1920, of which the present application is a division. The kiln A shown Ain the drawings comprises an elongated kiln chamber with an end to end series of combustion chambers B at each sidel of the pathway through'the kiln Vchamber for the goods to be heated. Associated with each combustion chamber B is a corresponding recupeiator; each recuperator comprises a series of tubes or pipes D which extend 'lengthwise `of the recuperator and open at their opposite ends into'chamber and C2; through apertured heads E. Between each.

recuperator and the corresponding combustion chamber B 1s located a channel or cOn'dult C. This condult receives products l of combustion at one end through the port B"froml the corresponding combustion 55 chamber B,vand vpasses these products of combustion through .a port D opening from the opposite end of the channel C intov the inter-tube space of the recuperator at the .the inter-tube space of the recuperator for products of combustion. This outlet is' conf vnected to a suitable draft creating device,

shown as an exhaust fan F. The air to be preheated in the recuperator passes into the chamber C thru a port or, passage G. As shown .this air is delivered to the passage G byA a blower fan G. The air passes from the chamber C tothe vchamber C42 through the tubes or pipes D. A gas-supply nozzle H opens into the chamber C2 being -supplied with combustible gas through the `main H. Theburning mixture formed in the chamber C2 by the gas supplied by the nozzle H and the air passing througlithe tubes D, passes through the outlet C3 from the chamber C2 into the adjacent combustion chamber B.

With the described construction it will be apparent that the air passing through the `suitablematerial such as carborundum, fire clay or iron. Because of its very 'good heat conducting properties, iron is preferably 'em ployed in the recuperator throughout or in the colder end of the recuperator, when the temperatures prevailing in the hot end of the recuperator are so high as to require the tubes in that portion of they recuperatorto -be made of a more refractory material, such as fire clay or carborundum. Regardless of the material out of which they are made, the tubes D are formed in sections connected by thimbles d. into each of which the adjacent ends of an adjacent pair of tube sections `D enter and have a sliding fit. The thimbles d in conjunction withthe ends of the tube sections entering them,.thus form efficient eX- pansion joint connections. The thimbles al are preferably Vof square or other polygonal outline in transverse section, so that they may be stacked up on one another as shown best in Fig. 2. With the thimbles d thus stacked up at intervals along the length of.

the iccupeiator,'the tubes D are correctly spacedapa'rt and the tubular structure as a Whole is stable. Each stack or pile of thimbles CZ forms in effect an aperture'd baille Wall extcnding transverselyu across the recuperator chamber` and adapted to break up the streamflow lines of the products of j combustion through the rccupe'raton'thereby adding' to the efticiency of the heat transfer.v While Well adapted Afor useas a part of the tunnel kiln structure shown in the draw` ings, my improved re'cuperator structure is obviously not restricted to use in connection with this or any other-particular kind of furnace. It Willbe apparent to those skilled l in the art that changesvmay be made in the 'form of the preferred construction illus- `trated AWithout departing from the spirit of tions and uniting therewith to form expansion joints, and cooperating` with other of said thimbles to supportthe tubes in spaced apart relation. Y

`2. ln. a recuperator, the combination with a plurality of parallel tubes formed in sections, of thirnbles each connecting the adjacent ends of an adjacent pair of' tube secdescribed my invention, What tionsv and uniting therewith to torni eXpansion joints, and col-.operating with vother ot said thimbles to support the tubes in spaced 'apart relation, said` thinibles being of polygonal outline in transverse section.

3. In a recuperat'or, the combination with a plurality of parallel tubes formed in sections "of thimbleseach connecting the adja- .cent ends of an adjacent pair of tube sections and uniting therewith to form expansion joints and co-operating with others ot said thimbles to forni an aperturcd battle extending transversely to the tubes. y

4.111 an air heater, the combination with a plurality of parallel tubes formed in sections and a transverse supporting Wall for said tubes formed with an aperture for each tube and having the adjacent ends of adjacent vsections of the tube inserted in the opposite ends of the aperture. 1

5. In an a'ir heater, the combination with a plurality of parallel tubes each composed of a similar plurality of sections arranged end to end and With adjacent sections of adj aoent tubes of the saine length, and transverse tubes supporting Walls each formed With'an aperture for each tube and having the adjacent ends of adjacent sections of the corresponding tube inserted in the opposite ends of the aperture. Y

Signed at Detroit, in the 'county of `Wayne and State of Michigan, this lth'day ofy June, A. D. 1920.

' rHrLrPpH. DnEssLER. 

